Astride the Rift
by Mountain King
Summary: Sequel to In the Libraries of Gods. Kara Thrace is taken by a Time Lord in search of the Doctor. They end up in Cardiff. BSG Torchwood crossover with an original Time Lord Character On Hold at the moment
1. Introduction

Astride the Rift.  
Introduction, Recap and teaser

Welcome back. In my evil streak I decided to let those of you who wanted a sequel to "Libraries" wait for it. No, not really. Actually I couldn't think of a way to write the sequel. I was a little busy with other stories and ideas and I couldn't come up with a working plot. It took me a while, then I got this little idea...

Insert evil laugh here

Disclaimer  
I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood or Battlestar Galactica. I did create the character of the Librarian but I earn no money from his creation.

Recap  
In an AU of Battlestar Galactica(2003), after fleeing New Caprica Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace finds a small asteroid in orbit around a planet. A door built into the living rock lead to a vast library of an ancient race and it's last guardian.

The Librarian was one of the last of his race. His people were old before time began, the man's decrepit body failing him he literally regenerated into a new body. Declaring the records off limits he banished the Colonial landing team and vanished.

Only that was not the last Kara Thrace saw of him. Posing as a Cylon the Librarian returned her kindness during their first encounter by giving her a chance to say goodbye to her mother. Deciding to take her with him he invited her to set off across the universe. Brow beaten and weary by her life Kara leapt at the chance to simply get away from it all. Almost not caring where she ended up...

* * *

Teaser

The two of them sat at a table, they were outside of a lunch room watching people walk past. Kara couldn't say she'd been to this colony before, it was a strange combination of people from all the tribes of man. All skin tones, heights and shapes, there were no clues in the clothes either. Where ever they were it wasn't normal, most of the time the colonies stuck to themselves. 'So where are we?'

'They call it a coffee shop. Serves hot drinks, mostly.' Her travelling companion waved at a man in a smart shirt and trousers. The Librarian was an odd friend to have. Even in this place. Rolling his dark shirt's sleeves to his elbows he asked the man for two coffees and two chocolate muffins.

'A little less specific please.' Kara growled, getting him back to the point. She felt distinctly underdressed in her combat trousers and black vest.

'Err. I think the place is called Cardiff. I'm not sure, wasn't really where I was aiming for.'

'What?' she gasped.

He gave a half shrug 'Something pulled my TARDIS off course. A massive temporal rift running across the city like a bead of mercury. We fell through it like a stone though a wet paper bag.'

Kara didn't like the sound of that one bit 'Isn't that a problem? I mean how the Hades are we supposed to get out of here if this thing pulls us off course...' He waved off her question and pulled out some paper money.

That told her something, they could have been in the past on old Caprica. It wasn't that long ago they had finally done away with hard cash. These days Cubits were only seen on betting tables and the like. He paid for the drinks and little chocolate cakes. The Librarian took a sip of the dark drink and winced; 'Urg, now I know why he suggested I try tea first.'

'Why didn't you then?' she tasted her own drink. It was bitter but she felt she could get used to it. On the other hand baking a mini cake, just big enough for one, was a brilliant idea. It mustn't have caught on though.

He took a mouthful of the chocolate cake and swallowed. 'I was seeing if my old friend could be trusted.' he wiped the corners of his mouth. 'He never exactly was the most trustworthy of people.'

'Ahh the mysterious "friend" of yours. The one who's supposed to be here. I thought you said your race was dead.' she winced. 'Sorry I didn't mean...'

'No, it's alright. I've devoted my life to protecting their knowledge just in case something like this happened. For all things there is a time my child. Ours has come to an end.' He had that sad smile she saw on her own face since the destruction of the colonies. The "at-least-someone-survived" brave face. 'If anyone could survive it he would, and this is favourite planet.'

'And you still won't tell me which planet we're on.' The thing about the Librarian was he kept on pulling secrets out of his backside. Anymore and she'll seriously begin to lose it. Kara had accepted his offer because she had enough troubles on the Galactica. Of all things she needed time. Everyone did but all the angst and deception was just too much. When he offered her a break, anywhere in the universe, she jumped on it. The idea that she could just jump back in time to the moment she left was just the excuse she needed.

'Relax, if he's going to turn up anywhere it would be here. The temporal rift would draw him here even quicker than it did us.'

'I hope so.' She muttered to herself, almost missing the frown he suddenly developed. 'What?'

* * *

Elsewhere, underneath the ground in a vast hub, an elite team of alien hunters were staring at a screen. Their leader, a Captain Jack Harkness, had just done the one thing they had never expected him to. He panicked.

Running out of his office he shouted at everyone for ANY rift activity before running back in again and inspecting his little coral plant. Tosh found it half a second later. A rift event that was so big it had quite literally overloaded everything this side of the detector and crashed the system

Jack was there before she had finished calling his name. 'What happened?' he asked.

'I don't know. There was a massive surge that knocked out the computer. If I didn't know any better I'd say someone was using a rift manipulator.'

'No.' Jack shook his head. 'It wasn't that. Looks like someone with a time ship smashed into the rift. They might not have know it was there.'

'So they're not local then?' Gwen asked.

'No. It can't be what I think it is. It just can't be.' he looked at the readings, then his wrist strap and shook his head again.

'What is it Jack?' Owen asked

'It's an energy signature of a TARDIS. The ship of a Time Lord. But he knows about the rift. He wouldn't make that sort of mistake.'

No one moved, no one breathed. Time Lord, that could only mean one thing. 'What's a Timelord?' Gwen frowned

End teaser


	2. Chapter 1

Astride the Rift  
Chapter 1

'So, its a museum. I thought we were looking for your friend.' Kara looked around. She was beginning to narrow it down. They must be on one of the moons orbiting Caprica. They were always a bit funny when it came to the usual distinctions between tribes.

Right now they were standing at the steps of a large stone building. Stone! Hadn't these people heard of Concrete? 'Actually its an art gallery. I'll know when he arrives. If and when he does.' the Librarian frowned. 'Ever had the feeling you're being watched?'

'What? Sure, a couple of times.' she answered.

'Good, keep on the look out for that.' He was looking at the building like it shouldn't be there. Rubbing the back of his neck and trying to look through the windows without out moving.

'What are you doing?' Kara asked they were earning no end of odd looks from the people passing in the street.

He sighed 'How to explain. You know when your certain somethings going to happen only you don't know what? No that's not it. It's like the feeling you forgot to turn the oven off.'

'Any time you want to make sense I'll be standing right here.' she supplied.

He turned to her 'There is something in there. I can taste it, I know it. Only I've never been in there in my life. I don't know what it is I'm looking for or why only that it's in there. It's vital I get in there before something happens to it.'

'Is there some sort of secret club you have to be in to understand a word you said?' Kara planted her hands on her hips.

'Just come with me please. I'll explain when I know.' She followed him in after he paid with more paper cubits. If they had waited a moment she might have noticed the black vehicle pull up silently. a small group of people getting out and looking for something.

Inside the gallery Kara was taken aback it wasn't like any art gallery she'd ever seen. Usually they were boring as hell but this one was strange. Instead of a few landscapes and a couple of dusty pre-colonial artefacts this had walls covered in paintings. Paintings like explosions of light and colour, they reminded her of the work she had done herself.

And no art gallery in all the Colonies, let alone a back water moon like this one, would display something like that. It just wasn't done that way. 'Where are we?' Kara whispered to herself.

Looking around she saw her guide to this mad world half run out a side door. Chasing after him as fast as she dared she saw bored children dragged in font of these paintings. One was just black and white patterns, another an explosion of colour. Dimly Kara noticed that the "art" was changing, becoming bolder more abstract.

Another thing she noticed was just how gods damn fast the Librarian moved. Without quite running he was going a lot faster than a walk, pausing for only a moment at a time, as if he knew where he was going.

Distracted by one painting that was a riot of dark colour Kara almost ran into him 'Ah!'

'What is it doing here?' he asked while looking at a sculpture. At first she thought he was talking to her, but it didn't take long for her to see he wasn't. He was looking at something about the size of a hand, maybe a bit bigger. It had a flat hand grip and a small box on the top. 'Looks intact, even the positronic neutraliser and the wave topography particle generator.' The Librarian pointed at the wire finger guard around the handle and a knobbly thing at the bottom. 'It might even still work, but his thing is from before the age of Rassilon. What is it doing here?'

He was walking around this thing. It was in a glass box on its own little pedestal. 'Better question; What is it?' Kara asked while looking at a little plaque next to it. It read, in perfect Caprican:- "The Unknown. Unknown Welsh artist in gold and hard wood."

'It's a... Well it's a...' He began waving his hands before dropping them in defeat. 'It's a time machine. Sort of.'

'How can it be sort of a time machine? It's either one or it's not.'

He winced and she could tell he was deep in thought; 'Try to understand this would be like trying to explain Viper mechanics to a Dagget.'

'What did you just call me?' That had got her attention

'It's the only thing I could think of that could fit, sorry. My TARDIS is a type 75, otherwise known as a mark seven. It can do a lot of very special things because it's that advanced. This isn't as advanced, not even close. It still allows the user to travel in time, only nothing like what my people can do now.'

'So it's a prototype time machine, from your home. What's it doing here?' Kara didn't get an answer as three little black disks spun into the large room, one landing near the two of them. Three explosions followed.

* * *

'So what is a Time Lord?' Gwen asked again, this time they were inside the SUV and Jack was driving like a mad man.

Owen turned around and answered; 'Basically they're your average time travelling intergalactic super-being. At least that's what the legends say. Really we don't know. One called the Doctor visits Earth every so often and lends a hand in stopping the odd alien invasion but...' Jack took a corner so fast everyone was thrown to one side of the car and it lifted onto to wheels.

'Sorry about that, that curb was WAY to high.' A quick jerk of the wheel and the SUV was back on four.

'Anyway, we don't know much. He was there when UNIT was set up and was part of the original Torchwood charter over a hundred years ago but other than a few completely silly and contradictory descriptions we don't know who he really is.' Owen finished.

'I saw him once.' Ianto supplied. 'Back at Torchwood One. He was there when the Cybermen and Daleks attacked. Right in the middle of it. He saved us all that day, at a terrible cost. Tall thin guy with messy brown hair and a pinstripe suit.'

Tosh looked up from her computer. 'I've seen him to, only he didn't look like that. He wasn't tall and had short black hair. Also his nose and well... features stuck out.'

'That sound's like the Doctor.' Jack laughed before pulling a turn at speed that almost ripped the tires off.

'Which one?' Gwen asked.

'Both. When a Time Lord dies he regenerates his body. Changes everything he ever was. Both of them were the same man, sort of at least. The Doctor's more an intergalactic legend than a Time Lord anyway and he's supposed to be the last one.' Jack pulled the car to a stop behind a black van and they jumped out. Jack took command and waved his wrist strap. There was a blue light flashing on it. 'Right this is tuned to Time Lord wave patterns, they're here. Tosh, scan the area for any body with two hearts in them. Take Gwen and Ianto, I'll take Owen. Stay in contact and don't split up, not ever. Got me?'

Everyone nodded. 'Good and one last thing. If you see former Prime Minister Harold Saxon, shoot on sight.' He must have read the confusion on everyone's faces because he added:- 'Long story, so don't ask.'

It was at that moment the Cardiff modern art gallery they had parked next to exploded.

Gwen hadn't noticed that was where they had stopped until then. The windows exploding out ward in a way that was all to horribly familiar. The back door of the van burst open and a man began firing a pistol.

Gwen flinched, noticing the way he held the gun in both hands. The set of his shoulders, the way his head rocked back with each shot. She saw the ill fitting ski-mask and black featureless hoodie that almost swaddled him. A kid, maybe not even twenty, with a gun. The part of her brain that would have told her to duck, or at least get out of the way, was busy telling her all this and so she crouched right in the firing line.

Something hit her, it was hard and she snapped out of the shock. She'd been shot she thought. Any second now the pain would come, a part of her had always wondered what it was like. To be shot, to die. She was almost disappointed when she opened her eyes to see Owen's grinning face. 'Now you don't want to end up like me do you?' he laughed half heartily.

The sound of Jack's old revolver barked twice and Gwen saw the boy take one of the bullets in his shoulder. 'Jack he's just a kid!' she shouted.

'And now he's just a wounded kid.' Jack answered flippantly. 'Secure the, agh!' Four men jumped out of the ruined windows, firing on them. At least one of them knew what he was doing and Jack was hit, bad. Just another normal day at Torchwood then.

Owen rolled off and tried to get up but Gwen pulled him back. and the pair of them rolled under the SUV. More bullets bouncing around them. 'What you do that for?'

'You're still dead remember you idiot. You can't heal anymore.'

'I know that, so I don't have to worry about bullets do I'

'One lucky shot and the rest of us spend time thinking of headless Owen jokes. Now stay down and let me look at your side.' Gwen ordered. She was right, he'd been hit by the round he'd saved her from. Another gaping hole in his torso.

'Oh perfect. Now they've just got me mad.'

'Didn't feel it?' She had to ask. One of the side effects of being, well of being deader than a doornail was that Owen couldn't feel anything.

'Not a thing. Bastards.' He swore as the black van pulled away. The two of them crawled out and were offered a hand up by Tosh and Ianto.

'They had us pinned behind the SUV.' Ianto offered as way of explanation. 'Good thing it's bullet proof.'

'What isn't that proof?' Gwen asked, the things she'd seen the SUV do since her joining Torchwood were bordering on impossible. While the others were thinking of something she saw two people stumble out of the building.

The couple looked completely out of place with each other. The woman had mid length blond hair and gold necklace with a hexagon pendant. Dressed in a two piece black and grey sleeveless shirt and dark green trousers. 'They got away, if I brought my gun I could have stopped them.' she shouted and Gwen noticed the empty holster on her thigh

The man shook dust out of his hair and brushed his shoulders. 'It's considered impolite to walk around with a Kinetic energy weapon. And I don't believe in violence.' The last bit he almost ordered before catching sight of Gwen. He was in a formal suit with a dark shirt and waistcoat. Only he had rolled up his sleeves, undone the top two buttons and lost both his tie and jacket somewhere.

Jack got to his feet, 'Now that sounds like a Time Lord.' he smiled. The man's face dropped in flat shock before twisting in revulsion. It looked like the very sight of Jack was enough to disgust him. 'Oh, I forgot about that.'

'Jack what's wrong?' Ianto asked.

'You should not exist.' The man stood up strait, eyes digging into Jack. 'He's suspended in time, sheathed in a riot of temporal energies. Keeping him alive no matter what. How is this possible?'

'Short version; I died.' Jack winced. 'And got brought back. And back and back again.'

'He can't die?' the blonde asked her partner. 'Your people can do that?'

The man half growled his answer 'It goes against every natural law in the universe Kara. No one should be able to do it, to suspend a man in time so that he cannot die but still effect the world around him. It's wrong, in every way.'

'Well at least I'm consistent.' Jack quipped. 'Now we're going back to the hub, your coming back with us to answer some questions. Like who are you and what the hell just happened.'

'That's what you think frakker.' the woman, Kara, called out but the man put a hand on her arm. There was a long moment while he never broke eye contact with Jack, hand on Kara's arm.

'Kara, this is more important. It looks like this little city has a few more secrets than I first thought. Besides you need to be a Time Lord to use what they stole and I think you can help me find who did it.'

* * *

The man in the long coat, Jack, came with them, along with the one in the sharp suit and one of the women. Ianto and Tosh They took a taxi the other two, Owen and Gwen, Jack called them, drove their own vehicle. There was something up with Owen, clutching his side. They must be getting him to a hospital.

On the other hand they themselves were heading to a wharf. When the taxi transport stopped next to a large body of water the five of them got out. Jack thanked and then flirted with the driver to Kara's amusement. There was nothing wrong with it but the Gemonise would have thrown a fit. This little moon was full of that sort of thing. 'Ahh smell that sea fresh air.' he said with a huge smile to her.

'Its awful.' Kara admitted. It was salty and quite dark. Fresh was nothing like the way she would describe it.

Ianto smiled, 'It's Cardiff.'

'I got that, for a moon Cardiff wouldn't rate high on my holiday plans. No offence.' She walked on, completely missing the looks she and then the Librarian got from the other three.

'Hold on there blondie' Jack called 'Door.' She had walked right past it. Inside was a small shop where Jack leaned over the counter and pressed a hidden button. A whole wall section unfolded.

'Oh no.' Kara sighed. 'This looks like a bad entertainment about the secret police.'

'Exactly, so who would think it really exists. Score one for torchwood.' Jack smiled.

'I didn't know we were playing. What would I win?' she asked

He just gave a her a long look that spoke volumes. 'I'll let you know.' he winked

The Librarian actually took a step closer to the self titled Captain. All through the journey he even refused to look at the man. 'That's a fifty first century attitude if I ever heard it.'

They got into a lift. 'Good guess.' the man in question admitted ruefully.

The Librarian actually laughed. 'A Time Agent, I should have known. The CIA spent half a millennium fixing your mess.'

'The who?' Ianto asked in shock

'Our mess?' Jack burst out at the same time. 'We were policing time travel, most of the time.'

'The Chronological Integrity Agency.' The Librarian said on the way out of the lift to a huge bulkhead. 'Their job was to maintain times pattern. Your lot spent most of their time making a little ripple a major act of temporal re-engineering.'

The door rolled back and Ianto opened the cage on the other side. Kara had to admit she was impressed by the shear amount of security. 'How were we supposed to know.' Jack whined.

"A Time Lord is said to be the avatar of time and order in the universe. According to Rassilon. You're not. You should have asked.'

'Oops?' Jack supplied. Kara rolled her eyes and looked around. It was a vast under ground cavern. Obviously hollowed out to make use of a underground tunnel network and storage. The centre was dominated by a tall mirrored tower that stretched up and into the ceiling, possibly past the surface. Water ran down the out side and fed a sort of underground river that the complex bridged. A internal building to one side with glass walls was possibly office space while a couple of oversized computer consoles were part of the main, well den.

The whole place looked lived in with takeaway boxes scattered on tables and drinks on the desks. Near the waterfall a large piston hissed and retracted, another lift came down that was basically just a slab of stone. The other two members were on it and coming down. 'Nice place.' Kara supplied. In fact it looked like a nuggets bunking quarters after a party but she wasn't going to say it.

'We like to call it home.' Ianto said. 'I'll get the coffee on.'

'I'll have tea.' The Librarian supplied before jumping up a few steps and looking intently at one of the computer consoles.

* * *

'We gotta Billy to a hospital!' Jim said ripping off his mask as the Van screeched along.

Mark just grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up. 'That was Torchwood we just shot at you idiot. You've heard the stories, they don't care about the whole trial thing. They'll just kill us.'

'Over some silly peace of tat?' Jim had to ask. 'It's my brother damn it, I'm not going to let him die.'

'Look we take him to the hospital and Torchwood will find us. You shot that guy in the coat remember. They ain't going to give up.'

John looked over his shoulder from the divers seat. 'So what are we going to do?'

Mark finally let go. 'The old man's going to give us enough money to get out of here. Somewhere they'll never find us. We'll get a doctor,after getting paid. So put your foot down.'

Billy wasn't good, still bleeding and white as a sheet as they pulled up outside the back of the clock shop. The skinny old man came out with a large suit case. Mark got out with the thing. 'Easy as pie.'

'Really. There was no incident?' he asked with an raised eyebrow

Mark took the Suit case and then gave the trinket to him. 'None Mr Manger, Easier than taking candy from a baby.'

'Good, I might call on you again. If I should ever need you. Good day.' With out another word he turned and went back inside.

Mark jumped back in. 'Let's get out of here.' John drove slowly away trying not to draw attention. 'Old git. Cloak and dagger and suit cases full of money. Told you it was easy. A lot better than bank robbery.' Opening the case he pulled out a wad of cash. 'Clean money. now let's get your brother to a doctors, one that won't ask too many questions.'

Billis Manger turned his newly acquired toy in his hands. Yes his master might be dead in body but his will lived on through him. It sung to him that this little toy could fulfil his revenge on all.

There was a dull crunch and the walls shook slightly as the land mine Billis had acquired on a quick trip to the second world war went up. Always burn your bridges behind you he thought as a young woman ran screaming in the opposite direction. A police siren began to sing.

Now he needed to learn how to use this thing to it's full potential, fortunately for a man of his talents it shouldn't take too long But first a short hop back in time to plant that mine at the right time...

End Chapter 1

* * *

Authors note  
This one's going at speed so I think it will only be a couple more chapters, but don't worry a third story is already in the works!

Oh for those who don't know. Not to give too much away, Billis is the bad guy at the end of the first series of Torchwood and like all good Who villains can travel through time.


End file.
